Bible Study series: Mark 5:21-24a. Jesus is heading towards a house where he will perform a wonderful miracle.
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Scripture: Mark 5:21-24a
21 After he crossed back to the other side in a boat, a huge crowd gathered to him, and he was alongside the lake. 22 One of the synagogue rulers, by the name of Jairus, came and saw him and fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at her end. Come and place your hands on her, so that she may be healed and live. 24 He departed with him. (Mark 5:21-24a)
Comments:
The reason we label the verse as 24s is because the verse is split in half.
From here to the end of the chapter, Mark is about to interlock the stories of two very different people. On the one side stands Jairus the synagogue ruler, who was rich and powerful, but his daughter is dying. And on the one side stands an unnamed, unclean woman, who was socially degraded and rejected in her unclean status. Jairus has to fall at the feet of Jesus, and he has his plea answered. He was raised up. Even the rich can be accepted if they humble themselves. A real lesson there. The unclean woman was already very humble and needy and also fell at the feet of Jesus. She too was healed and raised up.
21:
He must be in Capernaum again, where he spent so much time. Of course a huge crowd gathered to him. He was a healer and excellent teacher. Healing and teaching is a winning combination. He was again along side the lake of Galilee.
22:
“ruler”: A synagogue ruler, who was important in this society, was not part of the priestly class necessarily, but his duties were to maintain the synagogue and organize worship serves and administration. This man was also rich; note how big his house was (vv. 38-39). But what is wealth when your daughter is dying? Mark’s version preserves the name of the synagogue ruler (Jairus), and Luke follows him. In Mark’s version, Jairus was one of the synagogue rulers, so he was part of a committee of sorts. Or it could just mean a “certain” synagogue ruler.
“fell before”: this one verb in Greek can often be translated as “worship,” but here he fell before him. He prostrated himself. The ruler was desperate and shows proper respect. His humility leads to his answer.
23:
“little daughter”: Mark adds the diminutive “little.” It adds poignancy to the story.
“at her end” it means she is at the end of her life. She was about to die. She was in extremis.
The synagogue ruler had some faith in him. If Jesus comes and lays hands on her, she shall be saved and live.
“healed”: The verb is sōzō (pronounced soh-zoh and used 106 times in the NT), and is passive (“be saved”).
As noted throughout this commentary on Mark, the noun salvation and the verb save go a lot farther than just preparing the soul to go on to heaven. Together, they have additional benefits: keeping and preserving and rescuing from harm and dangers; saving or freeing from diseases and demonic oppression; and saving or rescuing from sin dominating us; ushering into heaven and rescuing us from final judgment. What is our response to the gift of salvation? You are grateful and then you are moved to act. When you help or rescue one man from homelessness or an orphan from his oppression, you have moved one giant step towards salvation of his soul. Sometimes feeding a hungry man and giving clothes to the naked or taking him to a medical clinic come before saving his soul.
All of it is a package called salvation and being saved.
What Is the Work of Salvation?
24a:
This half verse, completed in the next pericope, is interrupted by an appropriately strong-minded and bold woman—though not so bold that she approaches him to his face. But she does show resolve. But let’s wait until her story is told, next.
GrowApp for Mark 5:21-24a
1. It was a fact that Jairus’s daughter was dying, yet he seemed to have some humility and faith. When you got a bad report from the “facts,” how did you respond? In faith or desperation (not the same thing)?
RELATED
Jairus’s Daughter in Three Gospels: Do the Differences ‘DESTROY’ the Truth of the Story?
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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